Use of beneficial bacteria and their secondary metabolites to control grapevine pathogen diseases

Grapevine is one of the most important economic crops yielding berries, wine products as well as derivates. However, due to the large array of pathogens inducing diseases on this plant, considerable amounts of pesticides—with possible negative impact on the environment and health—have been used and are currently used in viticulture. To avoid negative impacts of such products and to ensure product quality, a substantial fraction of pesticides needs to be replaced in the near future. One solution can be related to the use of beneficial bacteria inhabiting the rhizo- and/or the endosphere of plants. These biocontrol bacteria and their secondary metabolites can reduce directly or indirectly pathogen diseases by affecting pathogen performance by antibiosis, competition for niches and nutrients, interference with pathogen signaling or by stimulation of host plant defenses. Due to the large demand for biocontrol of grapevine diseases, such biopesticides, their modes of actions and putative consequences of their uses need to be described. Moreover, the current knowledge on new strains from the rhizo- and endosphere and their metabolites that can be used on grapevine plants to counteract pathogen attack needs to be discussed. This is in particular with regard to the control of root rot, grey mould, trunk diseases, powdery and downy mildews, pierce’s disease, grapevine yellows as well as crown gall. Future prospects on specific beneficial microbes and their secondary metabolites that can be used as elicitors of plant defenses and/or as biocontrol agents with potential use in a more sustainable viticulture will be further discussed

Crown Gall

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetCrown gall of grape is an important disease in all areas where grapes are grown worldwide, but is particularly severe in regions with cold climates. Formerly designated as Agrobacterium tumefaciens biovar 3, A. vitis, the bacterium that causes of the disease, only occurs on grape. A. vitis survives systemically in grapevines, and initiates infections at wound sites, such as those caused by freeze injuries. As a result, vineyards in climates with cold winters are prone to suffer extensive damage from crown gall. In addition to freeze-induced wounds, graft unions are also common sites for infection

Know your Audience - A Multi-pronged Approach to Information Transfer and Impact Assessment

Computers, clickers and video clips have been added to the arsenal of Coffee Pots and Crop Updates to help the members of the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program address the needs of an audience that is as diverse as it is geographically spread out